A Magical Stay at Cape Town's The Silo

There are a lot of things that can push a great hotel up into the realm of an exceptional hotel. Location. Architecture. Cuisine. Service. While it's rare that a single property exceeds expectations in multiple categories, Cape Town's award-winning The Silo does exactly that.

A member of South Africa's widely respected The Royal Portfolio collection, The Silo is a luxury property set amidst Cape Town's vibrant Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, which is bursting with restaurants, shops, and activities.

The area still retains aspects of its shipbuilding and industrial past, giving it a great deal of character. In fact, The Silo was built in a 1920s-era grain elevator, occupying six floors above the city's new Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (MOCAA), which was also crafted out of the grain silos.

The structural renovation of the silos was headed up by Thomas Heatherwick, the highly-acclaimed British architect who famously designed London's rolling pedestrian bridge, which curls up like a caterpillar. Heatherwick crafted gorgeous multifaceted windows for the hotel, which bulge outward like glassy pillows.

At night, the whole building gives off a glow, not unlike that of a giant lantern. From the inside, the windows' structural members beautifully frame gorgeous views in every direction—the Waterfront, the Atlantic Ocean, the city center, and the iconic Table Mountain.

There are seven room types, from the 440-square-foot Silo Rooms to the 2,000-square-foot one-bedroom Penthouse, which also includes a large balcony. We stayed in one of the two-story Family Suites. Our Suite, which measured in at about 1,300-square-feet, included a large dining room/family room/living room downstairs and two bedrooms and two baths upstairs.

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The master bedroom featured an absolutely breathtaking panorama of Table Mountain, as well as a huge ensuite bathroom and closet area. A glass shower and large soaking tub were fronting a window with views across the V&A Waterfront.

All of the Royal Portfolio properties' furnishings are hand selected by the brand's creator and CEO, Liz Biden. Biden has a gift for high-end, luxury design that doesn't feel stiff or uncomfortable. She's fond of bright and fun prints, not to mention brilliant bursts of color. The results are timeless, elegant and approachable. All of the art here is modern African art, meant to vibe with the adjoining MOCAA.

The Granary Cafe, the main restaurant here, is a nice mix of industrial and modern. The restaurant is open to hotel guests only, but those not staying at the hotel can still visit the Willaston Bar.

Willaston serves an incredible breakfast. Of particular delight is the Breakfast Harvest Table, with yogurt, muesli, fruits, cheese, smoked salmon, grapes, and more. The crispy fried was so delicious that we had to order it again the second day. It came with feta and avocado, sprinkled with pepper. The various tastes came together in a delightful and surprising way.

The service at The Silo is unmatched. We were constantly asked by staff members how they could make our stay even better. By the end of the first day, I think every employee had approached us and introduced themselves—and people I didn't even remember meeting were greeting us by name.

Hoon, at the front desk, was quite engaging, and he took the time to get to know my partner and me. He asked what activities we were doing each time we headed out from the hotel, he told us about his favorite restaurants and shops in the areas we were visiting that day, and he even suggested a particular drive for us one day.

Over breakfast on our last morning, one employee asked us where we were headed next after checkout. We explained to him that we were driving to Knysna, along the Garden Route, about a five-hour, but beautiful, journey. He implored us to let the kitchen put together a picnic lunch so we could stop and eat it at a beach along the way.

Thrilled at the kind offer, we graciously accepted the idea and the kitchen put together a lovely lunch of wraps, fruit, and snacks. It was something we certainly hadn't expected, but it capped off a wonderful stay at The Silo with one more reason to smile.